


Frederick and Merope

by merryfortune



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Canon Compliant, Could be read as ship, Fluff, Gen, Pets, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:05:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22812754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryfortune/pseuds/merryfortune
Summary: Ryoken suggests to Spectre that he might enjoy adopting a pet or two.
Relationships: Revolver | Kougami Ryouken & Spectre
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Frederick and Merope

**Author's Note:**

> Does anyone else remember the ferret!Spectre trend?? It was cute.

When Ryoken first posed the thought to Spectre, he was aghast. He thought that it was Ryoken’s callous solution to the not very discrete melancholy that Spectre had been feeling ever since the Earth Ignis’s dissection at the power of SOL Tech’s demand. A few months later, it didn’t feel so callous. Spectre now saw it within himself: he needed something to do. To micromanage specifically so he moved on. He wasn’t replacing Earth or anything like that. He was merely expanding himself.

It certainly gave him something to do. He had to rearrange all his house plants and then he had to plug every gap that he could find in his living quarters. After that, all he could do was solve every problem as it arose. The next problem, of course, was acquiring the pets he had in mind and had been recommended by Ryoken.

The animals in question being ferrets.

Spectre had no attachment to animals. Although that I’m itself was not entirely true. He had what he considered to be a healthy fear of dogs and other canines. He could also appreciate birds and insects, but mustelids had never really crossed his mind. Hence why he was rather surprised that Ryoken thought that a pair of ferrets around might be a good thing. They were more high maintenance than a cat, which he, having much experience in being micromanaged by Spectre, he thought Spectre would like that. They were also social so having more than one would give Spectre even more to do in regards to their care. But also, he just thought that there was some passing resemblance between Spectre and ferrets.

Spectre had no idea about that last point but the others were certainly valid so ferrets it was then.

Ryoken had to purchase them on his behalf. After all, it would be quite bad if Spectre were to be recognised over something as mundane as visiting an animal shelter. Though Spectre didn’t care much for such details as it prevented his identity from being scrutinised too deeply. As long as he got to name them, Spectre wasn’t too fussed.

And, of course, he did get to name them. He was given a spayed brother-sister pair, the male was Siamese and the female was blaze patterned. He named the male Frederick, thinking it was a nice, respectable name for a young man and the female, he named Merope in reference to a character in an Ancient Greek play that he enjoyed, Oedipus Rex. Aso, personally, thought that such a name would be an omen inviting incest between his ferrets and Spectre was scandalised at the comment. Genome laughed quite raucously upon hearing that.

The ferrets did not enjoy Spectre at first but he wasn’t offended. They nipped at him as he tried to feed them and play with them, but he didn’t mind. Even if he had quite a few bandaids on his fingers come the first night with his darlings home. 

But after a week or two, Frederick and Merope had finally settled. Since then, they had certainly been spoilt and pampered. Spectre let them sample small quantities unflavoured meat which he would prepare for his and the others dinners, and he frequently goaded them with all sorts of fluffy cat teasers and the like. They very much enjoyed the attention and seemed to like nothing more than clambering over Spectre so they could sniff him or sniff each other or merely to cross to the other side of his lounge so they could sniff it.

Even when they were naughty, Spectre was gentle with them as he scolded them. He didn’t let them get away with murder; though they did frequently attempt it against each other as siblings were prone to do. Though, that tended to veer closer to comedy than anything he ought to discipline them for as they never got concerningly rowdy. It was only when they drew blood which was something they only did against humans rather than each other. So, even when they bit him, or more heinously when they bit Ryoken, or when they urinated in corners which he had thought they disliked and ergo did not set a pee pad for them, he showed a kindness to them which he usually reserved for his precious plants. 

Speaking of which, they seemed to know who owned them. Whilst living with him so far, they had yet to desecrate any of his various potted plants and seemed to enjoy staring up, in awe, at his hanging garden. And earnestly, Spectre thought they looked quite adorable when he put them on his shelves so they could take a nap or investigate the greenery that he had around.

Though, he did fret frequently over them. Considered geriatric at four, ferrets weren’t exactly the most long lived or hardy of animals. Even something as seemingly innocuous as a snot bubble when they slept was enough to get Spectre to panic over them. A panic he found grounded, in his own opinion, as the reformed cyber terrorist but still a cyber criminal lifestyle did not lend itself quite well to professional veterinarian care but between three doctors for people, Spectre’s dear Freddie and Merope were somewhat in good hands. Despite infrequent sniffles and the like, they got quite lucky and never fell ill enough to warrant panic from anyone who was not Spectre.

Yes, he got very lucky, indeed, with his little ferrets.

Merope who was his plucky little adventurer. She was far more daring than her brother. She was most troublesome and enjoyed testing whether or not Spectre’s living quarters were truly ferret proofed or not. He didn’t mind, it was part of the appeal of ferrets, to him. Besides, in a way, her misadventures in adventuring, as he saw it, were almost rewarding as some of them could be quite laughable. Whether she was batting at hanging toys in her and Frederick’s cage too hard and being batted back, it could be quite adorable seeing her hiss and fight at the offending, inanimate object. And that was to say nothing of her habit of occasionally miscalculating whether or not she could jump up onto the lounge unassisted. Seeing her just repeatedly jump to no avail and wear herself out like that amused Spectre as well.

In contrast to Merope’s antics, Frederick was a much calmer ferret. He enjoyed observing things, it seemed to Spectre. He liked staring at windows, through the bars of his and Merope’s cage, looking over the room, at the ceiling when the lights weren’t on, and so on and so forth. He especially liked to do it from high places; on the back of the lounge, atop Spectre’s shoulders, and at the top of his little, indoor playground. Either that or he was just very spacey and everyone, especially Spectre, had mistaken him for having a rather tranquil personality - save for when Merope annoyed him too much and they had a play fight or two together.

Spectre adored his little ferrets to bits and pieces. He loved how they constantly demanded his attention, specifically to be brushed, and he loved how their lithe little bodies waddled around, tail swinging as they roamed around when permitted. All in all, he was very thankful to Ryoken for getting them for him. He was especially grateful because he simply enjoyed having at least one person think about him deeply in a way he did not think about himself or consider. For someone who craved being needed, being wanted, that was very special to him.

Also he understood what Ryoken meant now; that there was a passing resemblance between him and a ferret, as well. He saw it in the way his hair curled around his neck, like their tails, almost, and sometimes even in the snarl of his smile. It wasn’t necessarily bad; amusing, perhaps but Spectre quite liked it. 

He supposed that it was true, pets and people did eventually morph into one likeness. 

Hence why Spectre couldn’t resist, but he had to adopt a third ferret - and he did. He adopted an albino female and named her Princess because she was his little brat, sweet for only him and even sweeter for Ryoken but a constant bully lording over Frederick and Merope. Still, the addition of a third ferret made Spectre very happy and that’s all that Ryoken had wanted for him in the first place. 


End file.
